Plant nurseries, garden centers, and the like require means to store and display plants. It is impractical for these businesses to grow a plant destined for sale in the ground, as this would require digging up the plant to transfer to the customer, increasing labor costs and risking damage to the plant. Accordingly, it is common practice to place plants in pots for growth, storage and display prior to sale to a consumer.
There are disadvantages to simply placing a plant in a pot and placing the pot out on a shelf or on the ground for display. The pot may be jostled and overturned by customers, or wind may cause the pot to overturn, breaking the pot and potentially damaging the plant. It also is known in this art that individual plants require specific amounts of space for optimum growth. Often, inexperienced personnel will place potted plants in too close a proximity to one another, creating overcrowding and competition between plants for available sunlight and space. This may result in stunted growth or death of individual plants.
Plant nurseries and garden centers often construct attractive, elaborate displays of plants to entice customers to purchase particular plants. Often, these displays are seasonal (for example, the sale of poinsettias is greatest during the Christmas season), and when the season has passed, new plants are brought in for different displays. Each individual potted plant remaining must therefore be moved, requiring additional time and labor expense. Like any other business, plant nurseries and garden centers also must maintain a count of their inventory, in this case of the number of plants of different types on hand. Difficulties are associated with conducting an inventory of plants in individual pots, as individual pots may be moved by customers or store personnel, resulting in an inaccurate count.
Accordingly, there is need in the art for a support system for potted plants which retains potted plants in an upright position regardless of wind, jostling, and the like, and which provides optimal spacing between potted plants placed therein. There is additional need for a support system which facilitates the transport of groups of potted plants from place to place, either within or between particular retail establishments selling plants. Advantageously, the support system should provide protection from hostile climate conditions, thereby allowing storage of plants therein in conditions of extreme cold or heat.